Monday, December 16, 2013

Have Yourself A Creepy Little Christmas

An almost forgotten and delightfully creepy character of Christmas has come back into popularity. The demon Krampus, the original Santa's little helper. While the saint's job was to give gifts and cheer to good little boys and girls, Krampus visited naughty children to deliver punishments. These punishments aren't just a light spanking according to the legend Krampus is an expert when it comes to dolling out pain, everything from tearing out pigtails from a young girl's head, impaling them with a trident, clapping them in irons, and deceiving them to fall to their deaths from cliffs. (That is just to name a few). Other versions of the tale even say that he carries a large basket so that he can kidnap the horrid children. Men still dress as the demon and are invited by parents into homes and to events to scare the non believing child. But this terrible demon isn't alone in his tormenting antics, in fact Krampus has several brothers equally as evil as he; The Door Slammer, The Sausage Snatcher, The Doorway Sniffer, and The Window Peeper.


"The practice dates back several thousands of years ago when supposed witches or troublemakers would don sinister costumes and run around the streets to scare the townspeople. Later, the pagan religions observed the approach of the harsh winter season in a similar manner with actors dressed in creepy costumes. Drawing from this influence, Krampus costumes today can range from a scary-looking old man mask to a horned devil-type creature covered in dark fur, bearing a long-fanged grimacing mask and animalistic eyes. They wield an assortment of fear-inducing noise-makers, such as heavy chains, whips and loud, clanging bells, as well as a basket meant to carry away naughty children."



No comments:

Post a Comment